Roy Hodgson himself admitted that his England team circulated the ball too slowly in the first half against Denmark and it was worrying to imagine what insipid fare might lie ahead in the heat of Brazil if this was the offering on a crisp March evening at Wembley. With players unwilling to go past a defender and midfielders reluctant to make runs beyond the forwards, most of the passes lacked penetration as England eschewed genuine positive intent in favour of safety-first possession play. Of course, ball retention has been a problem for this team for as long as anyone cares to remember so 57 per cent possession deserves more than a cursory dismissal. Here was a concerted effort to keep the ball from their opponent. The frustration was that with five Liverpool players in the line-up - for the first time since 1977 - supporters might have expected the sort of combination play that results from an understand
Posted on: Thu, 06 Mar 2014 04:15:28 +0000
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